Parting Gift
by Moontrimmer
Summary: Marianna “Sibyl” Poe muses about her late husband, the famous Josef Storm AKA the Storm Starter. Songfic to Fiona Apple's Parting Gift. COMPANION TO STORM SURGE!


Parting Gift 

Summary: Marianna "Sibyl" Poe muses about her late husband, the famous Josef Storm AKA the Storm Starter.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Parting Gift".

_I opened my eyes_

_While you were kissing me once more than once_

Josef Storm, the great Starter of Storms. He was so much more than that to me. He was my husband, the father of my children, my love, my sorrow, and my utter heartbreak. He was everything to me, he was my life! I loved him so dearly that I refused to regard the truth as nothing more than fiction.

_And you looked as sincere as a dog_

_Just as sincere as a dog does,_

_When it's the food on your lips with which it's in love_

I will forever remember that first time I met him. My best friend Katianna and I were out in a bar celebrating my 21st birthday. He was the bartender, but Katianna remembered him from Sky High. I remember vividly how handsome his smile was, how charismatic he was. But what I remember most were those eyes. They were that pure, perfect kind of blue that I drowned in. Katianna and I were both so smashed that night; I'm surprised I remember. We were even so smashed that he had to drive us home, because Katianna's older brother and he had been friends.

_I bet you could never tell_

_That I knew you didn't know me that well_

That was the night that he got Katianna's number, and they started to go out. I was so jealous of her, I really was. Josef was like a god in my eyes, seemingly untouchable. I thought that he could never be mine. I was wrong, however. One night Katianna and him came back to our apartment screaming at each other. I paid them no mind, I was too wrapped in my latest work. Until, that is, Katianna stormed into my room, crying.

"You bitch!" she screeched. "You can have him!"

_It is my fault you see_

_You never learned that much from me_

I stared after her with a look of incredulity. That was when Josef came in. I was about to ask him what the bloody fucking hell Katianna was screaming about when he sat closely beside me. He rested his hand at the base of my neck, urging me forward. In a daze, I complied. His lips met mine with ecstasy, and a dizzying array of feeling hit me.

_Oh you silly stupid pastime of mine_

_You were always good for rhyme_

After a month of dating, he proposed. I said yes, of course. What else could I say? We eloped with our two closest friends as witnesses, Katianna and Baron Battle. (Little did we know what would happen to Baron…)) Life with Josef was amazing, and I loved every minute of it. I can recall with clear accuracy his face when I told him I was pregnant. It was the world had lit up and was celebrating, but it was only his beautiful smile. He was right there next to me every step of the way, all the way down to when I was trying to scream at him and pop Brad out at the same time. After Brad, it was Drew. He was so happy to have two sons. I could tell he wanted a daughter. So when I told him about Senka, he was downright enthusiastic.

_And from the first to the last time_

_The sign says stop_

After Senka was born, everything seemed to be all right. After the first three years though, things in our relationship were starting to get tough. That was right around when Baron started having trouble, and I remember his and Katianna's worries. He would always come home late, and at first, I didn't say anything about it.

_But we went on whole hearted it ended bad_

_But I love what we started it says stop_

One night, he came home very late and accidentally woke up Senka. I went out to help him put her back to sleep, and there was lipstick on the collar of his shirt. I was furious, but I waited until the next day to confront him.

"Where were you really last night Joey?" I screamed. "Who were you really with? I know you weren't at the work!"

"Of course I was working." He said, faking puzzlement. "Where else would I be?"

"Besides with another woman?" I asked, staring into the very depths of those eyes, the eyes that were identical to my daughter's. "I'm not an imbecile, Joey!"

"Oh come on now Marnie! You know I hate to see you cry!" he exclaimed.

"Then why are you causing my so much pain?"

_But we went on whole hearted it ended bad_

_But I love what we started_

Josef admitted to the affair, and he said he stopped. He did, he didn't lie. That doesn't mean things got any better. I knew things weren't going so good between him and Baron, and it was causing him all too much strain. I was too afraid to ask him what was the matter, and so I asked Katianna. She said that Baron was starting to show what she called "villain tendencies." She told me that both her and Josef were trying so hard to get through to him, but… their efforts were showing no fruit.

_I took off my glasses_

_While you were yelling at me once more than once_

I was working on a project when he stomped into the house that night. He was angry, that much I could tell. There was so much emotion muddled behind his eyes that I couldn't make them all out. The look on his face though, it was so exhausted. I gave him a sympathetic look and stood up. He sighed and gathered me into his arms, holding me tight against him as if I were his only lifeline.

"What's the matter?" I asked quietly, my cheek against his chest.

"The world is on a manhunt for Baron." He replied, and I gasped.

_So as not to see you see me react_

_Should've put 'em, should've put 'em on again_

_So I could see you see me sincerely yelling back_

None of us could believe that the government wanted Baron. Apparently he had been torching important buildings or something. We were told that the Commander and Jetstream were after him, hunting him down. Josef was constantly on edge and praying that they would catch him and at the same time that they wouldn't. Then, I had the dream. Sometimes I wish I never had that dream, it was the true death of our relationship.

_I bet your fortress face_

_Belied your fort of lace_

In that fateful dream I saw Baron in a rotting building. Fire was everywhere and he was laughing maniacally. I could see Steve and Josie Stronghold on the other side of the flames. Josie flew Steve over the roaring circle of flames. A duel had begun, and it was a duel that would be Baron's last. As the dream faded, I saw the name of the building. I recognized it as a storage building on the edge of the pier. The next morning, I relayed the information to the Strongholds and the Police. When I told Josef, he gave me a look that told me he would never forgive me.

_It is by the grace of me_

_You never learned what I could see_

"How could you do that to Baron?" he yelled, his face was etched with anger in every feature.

"He's hurting people Joey!" I retorted. "I couldn't let him go and do that any longer!"

"He was my friend." Josef whispered, his voice hoarse and ragged.

"He was mind too, and you know it. But he was doing terrible things… Helen would have done the same thing!" I exclaimed, mentioning Baron's wife, Helen Battle.

"Betray her own husband, you mean?" he asked, vein in his forehead throbbing.

"She'd hunt him down herself if she wasn't crying her bloody eyes out!" I argued.

"So if you were in her position, would you betray me?" he shot back, and I stared at him with wide-eyes. My eyes began to tear at that point.

"If you were killing people I would have no choice!" I choked through tears. He sighed, seeing my tears, went into the bathroom. He slept on the couch that night.

_Oh you silly stupid pastime of mine_

_You were always good for rhyme_

"How could you do that to Baron?" he yelled, his face was etched with anger in every feature.

"He's hurting people Joey!" I retorted. "I couldn't let him go and do that any longer!"

"He was my friend." Josef whispered, his voice hoarse and ragged.

"He was mind too, and you know it. But he was doing terrible things… Helen would have done the same thing!" I exclaimed, mentioning Baron's wife, Helen Battle.

"Betray her own husband, you mean?" he asked, vein in his forehead throbbing.

"She'd hunt him down herself if she wasn't crying her bloody eyes out!" I argued.

"So if you were in her position, would you betray me?" he shot back, and I stared at him with wide-eyes. My eyes began to tear at that point.

"If you were killing people I would have no choice!" I choked through tears. He sighed, seeing my tears, went into the bathroom. He slept on the couch that night.

_And from the first to all the last time_

_All the sign says stop_

The next day Baron was caught, but not until he burned down all of the buildings on the pier, killing sixteen and injuring twenty. Josef still would not talk to me, and I was hating it. He was trying to make me feel bad for doing the right thing! Well damn him, he could whine and moan as much as he liked but I would not feel remorse for doing what I knew that I had to do. I loved him, and I loved Baron, but not enough to have any more lives lost, he was not worth that much. No one was, absolutely no one.

_But we went on whole hearted it ended bad_

_But I love what we started it says stop_

That night was our final argument.

"I can't be with you anymore Marnie." He whispered into my hair as he held me close. I pulled back abruptly.

"What?" I exclaimed, taken aback.

"You turned him in, you put him in jail." He stared at me accusingly.

"Baron put himself there, goddamnit!" I slammed my fist against the linoleum countertop. "How dare you blame me for the stupidity of his actions!"

"Baby, I love you so much but I can hardly bear to look at you." He admitted sadly, shaking his head.

"So you're just going to up and leave, leave me to take care of three children on the pay I get? To leave me here, to break my heart?" I screamed, anger filling my veins and feeding my heart. He cringed.

"I'm not going to break you heart, I'll still come and see the kids." He said. "You know I will."

"No, I don't know." I shouted at his face. "I thought I knew you, I really thought I did. But apparently I don't, because the Josef Storm I knew would never lie to me and say he loved me!"

"I do love you!"

"How _dare _you say that you love me, when all you can do is make me cry?"

_But we went on whole hearted it ended bad,_

I haven't seen my husband since court when they denied him custody of Brad, Drew, and Senka. He had actually tried to take those kids from me. He had no right. In my testimony, I asked that judge how many months he carried each of them in his womb, how many mood swings he had, how swelled were his feet, how much pain did it cause him to bring those fucking babies into the world, how many hours he was in labor, and how many hours he spent looking after them while I was at work. I won that battle, but I lost another. That was the last time I ever used my powers for any job, and I hope he is happy. I put myself through so much pain for him, I loved him with all of my heart.

_But I love what we started…_

Do you know the saddest thing about it all?

…

I saw each and every blow before they came.


End file.
